Until recently, the same applied here in the UK. If you were standing in/on a public space you could photograph freely.
Then it started that you could not take photographs of young children without the specific permission of the parents of all those that might be in the field of view. Now you risk arrest if a police officer is around as you might be construed to be a terrorist.

You can certainly take photos, it seems you just have to be careful what subject you are photographing and have a valid reason ready.
Nobody is going to bother about tourist photos but what they are saying is no photos of police, military or other security related subjects that could be twisted round to make you look suspect.